I'm the Detroit bureau chief for Forbes, which means I spend most of my time covering the automotive industry. But I also keep an eye on the rest of America's heartland—where stuff is manufactured and grown. I've been on the auto beat for more than 20 years at Forbes, Business Week and the Detroit Free Press. At the Boston Globe, I rode the tech bubble for a while, but I found there's nothing quite as fun as the auto beat. Whether you drive a car or not, everyone has an opinion about cars or car companies. What's yours?

9/10/2012 @ 5:29PM33,161 views

The Most Anticipated Cars of 2013

Fall is always an exciting time to shop for a new car. It marks the start of the new model year, when the latest cars and trucks begin rolling out of factories and on to dealer lots. But the 2013 model year is shaping up to be better than most, with more than 30 all-new nameplates headed to showrooms and many existing models being thoroughly reinvented.

Important new models include the sleek 2013 Lincoln MKZ, Ford Motor‘s make-or-break effort to revive the moribund Lincoln brand, and the 2013 Dodge Dart, the first Chrysler Group product developed with parent Fiat’s engineering. The market for mid-sized family cars will be especially competitive, with appealing new versions of the Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima. Newcomers are also entering the fray, including Tesla Motors, which is rolling out its Model S electric sedan.

The timing couldn’t be better for a flood of new products. The average age of cars on the road today is 11 years, creating what automakers say is an unprecedented level of pent-up demand. Many people put off replacing their vehicle over the last few years because they weren’t sure they’d have a job or were worried about keeping a roof over their head. Now that the economy is beginning to recover, credit terms have eased and consumers are feeling more confident about buying big-ticket items. As a result, the industry is beginning to pick up steam.

Automakers enjoyed their best August since before the 2007-2009 recession, selling 1.3 million cars and trucks for the month. The seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate in August was 14.52 million vehicles. So far this year, cars have been selling at a 14.3 million annualized rate. That compares with 12.8 million for full-year 2011. At its peak in 2005, the industry sold 17 million vehicles.

If it’s been a while since you shopped for a new vehicle, you’re bound to notice some changes in the showroom. First of all, you can expect a lot better gas mileage than you’re used to. There’s a broader selection of hybrids and plug-in vehicles for sale — at least one by every major manufacturer — as well as marked improvements in the fuel economy of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. Features like continuously variable transmissions, direct injection, variable valve timing and start-stop technology all help to make today’s cars go further on a tank of gas.

Cars sold last month, for instance, averaged 23.2 miles per gallon, according to TrueCar.com, an automotive research site. That’s up from 20.3 miles per gallon four years ago.

Some of the upcoming 2013 models will give you a choice between an efficient gas engine or an electric powertrain. The 2013 Ford Fusion, for instance, has a choice of four-cylinder gas engines getting 33 to 37 mpg on the highway, but will also be available as a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid. The 2013 Honda Accord also has a plug-in hybrid version, in addition to four- and six-cylinder engines.

Your next car is also likely to be outfitted with a lot of new safety features, from blind spot detection and lane departure warning systems to backup cameras and forward collision assist, which will hit the brakes if you don’t act quickly enough. These systems take a little getting used to, but can provide an extra level of security when you’re driving. The 2013 Cadillac ATS, for instance, is packed with radar, cameras and ultrasonic sensor systems that warn you of road hazards — a gentle vibration under your thigh if you’re drifting off the road, for instance — and intervene when necessary to help you avoid crashes.

Perhaps the most welcome — but controversial — feature in today’s cars is the ability to take your music and your social life with you. In-car information and entertainment systems are the auto industry’s next frontier, but they present new issues around driver distraction that have yet to be resolved.

Chrysler Group has a new approach in the new Ram 1500 pickup. Its UConnect system incorporates Sprint wireless technology which turns the truck into its own wireless hotspot. Motorists can download a variety of driving-related apps, and easily update them when necessary. The CUE entertainment system in the Cadillac ATS, meanwhile, has a clean, uncluttered design, natural voice recognition, and responsive touch screen technology that operates a lot like a smart phone or tablet.

With so many new vehicles being introduced, Forbes culled a list of what we think are the most important 2013 models coming to market. Our list is based on factors such as breakthrough technologies, significant powertrain advances and, in some cases, the car’s importance to a company’s business model. Here, then, is Forbes’ list of the Most Anticipated Cars of 2013.

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Good article. It is good to know that ll the cars will have their ball bearings made by the German company, the Schaeffler Group. This company produces high quality products so that all these cars will have well built ball bearings.

“Cars sold last month, for instance, averaged 23.2 miles per gallon, according to TrueCar.com, an automotive research site. That’s up from 20.3 miles per gallon four years ago.”

What a sorry statement!!! My VW Golf TDI from 2002 gets on average 45mpg. The VW prototype XL1 gets over 200 mpg. Considering the technology for much greater fuel-efficency is available, you’d think better cars would be offered.

You’re beginning to see more and more cars capable of getting mid-30s to mid-40 mpg, even on regular gas, not just diesel like your Golf TDI. Many of the hybrids are getting 40-50 mpg. I just spent the weekend in the new Ford C-Max hybrid (competitor to the Prius V) and found I was averaging 44 mpg. Not bad for $26,000. The plug-in hybrids or EVs can get the equivalent of 100+ mpg (though I’ll admit it’s kind of a bogus measurement). But for all these new high-mileage cars, don’t forget there are heavy pickup trucks, large SUVs and other vehicles offsetting the fuel-sippers. So the fact that the AVERAGE mpg improved from 20 to 23 should be seen as a good sign.

Great Joann – I’m loving the introduction of smaller engined cars that employ both turbo charging and super charging in the same system. There are quite a few 1.4 litre petrol engines with incredible power output that can be very economical when driven gently.